Photo source: Mark Bowler, Minden Pictures via NatGeo

You can mimic a result, but not the creativity. ~Sonya Teclai

In nature, camouflage and mimicry are both ways to avoid being detected. Animals and plants use camouflage and mimicry to hide from predators. Animals and humans may also use these adaptations to hunt.

Mimicry

Mimicry is when an organism is copying another organism (or a part of an organism) to fool others. This can involve animals pretending to be a other animals or trees, or plants pretending to be animals.

There are many types of mimicry. Here are a few:

• Batesian mimicry is when a harmless species mimics a harmful one to avoid being eaten, like this Cinereous Mourner chick mimics a highly toxic caterpillar that monkeys and snakes won’t eat.
  

  Photo credits: Santiago David (photo e), and Wendy Valencia (photo f) via ResearchGate

• Mullerian mimicry is the ability of two harmful species to resemble each other for purposes of shared protection, like these frogs.
  

  Photo credit: Ruffing’s Ranitomeya

• Mertensian mimicry (Emsleyan mimicry), where a deadly prey pretend to be harmless.
• Vavilorian mimicry is when weeds take on the same appearance as a domesticated plant species.
• Peckhamian mimicry (Aggressive mimicry) is when predators or parasites mimic a harmless species in order to get food or sex.
• Avian vocal mimicry is when birds mimic sounds, including environmental noises and the vocalizations of other animals.

Camouflage

Camouflage is a form of mimicry as well. It is when an organism is blending in with the environment by copying part of the environment, mainly through colors and patterns.

Camouflage helps prey to hide from predators, but predators also use it to sneak up on pray or lure them closer.

Illusions with Camouflage or Mimicry

Here are images from our collection of accidental illusions thanks to camouflage or mimicry

Click on the images to see the larger version and read the explanation of the optical illusion and the source/credit of the image.